Debt ridden farmer ends life in Kerala

An 86-year-old farmer named Ouseph allegedly committed suicide in Kerala after he was served a revenue recovery notice from a public sector bank over non-payment of loan dues.

Thrissur: An 86-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance after he was served a revenue recovery notice from a public sector bank over non-payment of loan dues on Monday.

The farmer, Ouseph, who was engaged in banana cultivation for the past 65 years, had in 2017 taken a loan of Rs 75,000 from Bank of India and around Rs 50,000 from Kerala Gramin bank, his relatives said.

The floods in the state had caused immense loss to the farmer and there had been no help from the state government either, Jobi, his son, said.

Ouseph had met the bank officials and sought more time to repay the loan, which was not acceptable to the bank officials, following which he took the extreme step on Monday, relatives said.